Breakdown of O suspeito tentou oferecer um suborno à polícia.
um
a / an / some (all forms)
a
to / at (direction)
o
him/it (m)
tentar
to try
a polícia
the police
oferecer
to offer
o suspeito
the suspect
o suborno
the bribe
Questions & Answers about O suspeito tentou oferecer um suborno à polícia.
Why isn't there a preposition like a or de after tentou?
Unlike many Portuguese verbs that require a preposition before an infinitive, tentar connects directly to the following verb. You just say tentou oferecer (tried to offer), without any linking word.
Why is it à polícia (feminine) here? I thought a police officer was masculine.
In European Portuguese, a polícia refers to the police force as a whole (or a female officer), and it acts as a singular noun. If you mean an individual male police officer, the word is masculine: o polícia. Here, the suspect is dealing with the institution, so the feminine noun is used, combining with the preposition a to make à.
Could we use experimentar instead of tentar for "tried"?
No. Experimentar means "to try" in the sense of testing something out, like tasting a new food or trying on clothes. When you make an effort to achieve a goal or do something difficult, you must use tentar.
Learn O suspeito tentou oferecer um suborno à polícia and more in Portuguese
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free